No.1853
Strange to imagine now, but for a long time it was "illegal" to watch films in your own home.
> From 1977, here is a news story about an FBI raid on a home film collector in St. Louis! The collector, Bob Frischmann, is a friend of mine, and we recently reconnected thanks to Facebook! Bob and I both got into collecting home videos in the late 1970s. Taped from KSD, Ch. 5, St. Louis.
No.1858
it's like how until this copyright law amendment was passed in the uk recently, it was technically illegal to import music to itunes from a cd
actually it's not really like that i guess
No.2017
There are some similarities to today. Hollywood is still powerful enough to have DC acting as their police force in many cases.
No.2018
That's amazing. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about copyright issues and history but this took me by complete surprise.
I'll be sure to bring it up in future threads on other boards that pertain to the MAFIAA's activities.
No.2019
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/roddy-mcdowalls-planet-tapes-0
> In 1974, the FBI raided the Hollywood home of Roddy McDowall and seized the actor's large collection of pirated films. The search, conducted as part of a copyright infringement probe, turned up films agents valued at more than $5 million. McDowall, who was not charged, cooperated with the FBI, giving agents the names of those with whom he bought and sold pirated films, according to these FBI records obtained by The Smoking Gun. In a lengthy written statement, the "Planet of the Apes" star even fingered other entertainers who collected such films–actor Rock Hudson, singer Mel Torme, and comedian Dick Martin (of Rowan & Martin). I remember hearing they also threatened to out him (as gay) if he didn't cooperate. Not sure if that's true or not. It's a sad story nonetheless, dude just wanted to watch his films.